PUSHING DAISIES: "Pie-lette"

The fact that the pilot episode is entitled "Pie-leete" sort of clues you in to the personality of the show. It's cute n' quirky.

You know you're in for something different by the opening shot: a citrus-colored Norman Rockwell scene with Dr. Suess meets Desperate Housewives narration. By the first commercial, I'm hooked. The show is charming without (yet) being cloying. The story is inventive and engaging. The characters are well-drawn and likable. Lee Pace is a great lead actor. There are moments in this episode that are pure joy - whether it's an odd camera choice, a devilish bit of dialogue or the way the show revels its own fantasy.

I like this show immediately for its insistence on being different. It's not a junk-culture reality show or another procedural crime-drama. It';s unlike anything else on TV. That either means its going to be a wild success or a dismal failure.

My biggest concern is whether or not this series can hold up with weekly installments. It seems like it would have made an excellent indie flick, but a TV series? When your new significant other tells you her/his funny spring break story the first time, you love it. But after hearing it several time, it loses its charm entirely. Here's hoping PUSHING DAISES has enough interesting tales to tell.

In short, PUSHING DAISES is either the most charming show in years or the most pleased-with-itself-cloying show ever. I'll let you know in three weeks.

MOONLIGHT: "There's No Such Thing As Vampires"

Hmmm.. this is another one that has me sitting on the fence. I know a lot of people are calling it an ANGEL rip-off, but it actually has more in common with the lesser-known FOREVER KNIGHT (an early 90s TV series featuring detective Nicholas Knight, an ancient vampire fighting for justice in present-day Toronto, Canada; Hey, it lasted 3 seasons and the pilot featured Rick Springfield! "Don't Talk To Strangers", indeed).

MOONLIGHT follows Mick St. John, an immortal vampire and private investigator - and his struggle to exist after he was bitten 60 years ago by his vampire bride on their wedding night. The show takes on a very old school approach; It's a basic late 80s/early 90s style detective show featuring a good-looking loner who helps those in need - with the vampire overlay. Nothing incredibly new here. So really, the show has to rely on smart writing, good acting and a unique style.

The series is evalated by lead vamp, Alex O'Loughlin, who does a neat job as the brooding blooddrinker. Sophia Myles impressed me as Beth; In a lesser actress, the character would seem wafer-thin. Myles, so far, is a decent female lead. Jason Dohring (of VERONICA MARS (?)fame) is passable as Joseph, the vamp who sees humanity as his own personal Starbucks. I'm a big VERONICA MARS fan, but let's be honest... that show will never be known for its stellar acting ensemble. I'm just seeing Logan Echolls as a bloodsucker here.

The writing may be a bit of a problem. I easily pegged the teacher assistant as the murderer about 29 minutes into the episode. I love play-fair mysteries, so I was a bit disappointed at the ease of this one. My much-mourned VERONICA MARS featured clever-twisty done-in-one-episode mysteries. If MOONLIGHT could do that with vampires, It'd easily be a favorite. The backstory faired better, with the past connection between Mick and Beth. Still, that "watching over Beth" for the past 20 years was a tad creepy since she is the new love interest. I had "Celine Dion's creepy old manager now husband" shudders.

This is a slight pet peeve, but I also don't like all the nefangled (newfanged?) vampire stories that play fast and loose with the rules. I can handle one or two exceptions, but this show had quite a few. They don't turn into bats or rodents. They don't fly. Sunlight doesn't kill and they can walk in the daylight. Crosses are a no-go. Garlic is great on pizza but doesn't even give heartburn. I'm not a fan or so MANY exceptions; I mean, it gets to a point of "why do a vampire show?" [sarcasm on/]They kept the teeth and blood-drinking at least.[/sarcasm off]

I think the biggest strike against the show is that it doesn't feel particularly new. A show like BURN NOTICE (which, by the way, check it out on USA) took that "80s detective loner" convention and gave it a modern twist with its style and sarcastic voiceover. MOONLIGHT desperately needs something to set it apart from a stock night-time detective show circa 1992 syndication. Other than the website reporting, you might even think this pilot was sitting on a dusty shelf as a first draft for FOREVER KNIGHT. It needs style. It needs a modern edge. This really is an old school show about (their version) of vampires.

I'll give it 2 more episodes before I decide whether it gets a TiVo season pass. It's well acted and competently written, but I'm not sure if it has anything new to say. And that may result in a ratings-stake through the heart. Forget crosses... are their vampires immune to Nielsons?

DIRTY SEXY MONEY: "Pilot"

I'm not 100% sold on this one. The first few minutes of the show grabbed me. I liked Nick George's unique relationship to the Darlings while growing up. It's also ironic that Nick would end up working for the family that usurped his father from him. The series bolstered by strong actors like Peter Krause, Donald Sutherland and Jill Clayburgh.

But once we started meeting the Darlings, my patience began to grow a wee thin. The show devolved into BROTHER & SISTERS on a bender. It also suffered a bit from quirkitis. Quirkitis began sometime in the 90s, infusing post-modern quirks on old standards. So, for example, it isn't enough that William Baldwin's character has a mistress. Add a little quirkitis and you get a trannie hooker(?) mistress. Likewise, Mick's chief rival among the Darlings is a selfish, hypocrite with at least one bastard child he refuses to acknowledge in public. Sprinkle a little quirkitis and hey, he's also a reverend! For good measure, let's have Mick and Rev. Darling wrestle like children during a swank dinner party.

The last 10 minutes saved the show, grounding it back to reality a bit. Even juicier, Mick learns that one of the brood may have murdered his father. That twist gives Mick good reason to stick around - and maybe me too! The series has potential as long as it doesn't get soap-silly.

BIONIC WOMAN: "Pilot"

Yup, I was a semi-fan of the original BIONIC WOMAN. It's not as cheesy-campy as people make it out to be. The most memorable episodes for me were the excellent Fembots/Dr. Franklin/Weather Control 3-parter AND any of the episodes with Jaime's evil double, Lisa, who used a drug to mimic bionics. And, Lindsay Wagner was charming as Jaime.

With one episode to judge, the new BIONIC WOMAN gets a cautious thumbs up for me. They certainly laid a lot of groundwork in the first episode. I like how each character has a specific role and I can't see any 'useless' characters that appear so often in pilots.

I'm a little unsure if the lead actress plays "tough" convincingly. Her line at the end of the episode and during the fight scenes... didn't quite sell it. She's pretty good overall (and easy on the eyes)... but can she carry the whole darn show? Linsday Wagner had a certain charm, a certain charisma... you instantly related to her. I do also think things were rushed, as far as Jaime's development. She goes from Sarah Conner (in TERMINATOR) to Sarah Conner (in TERNIMATOR II) in 14 minutes. Sarah Corvus should have handed Jaime her non-bionic ass on that rainy rooftop. And Jaime should have then gone to the government seeking help and reluctantly agreeing to "work" with them. Then the whole first season could have been her development into bionic ass-kickery extreme. The tough Jaime didn't work in the last 15 minutes; It didn't ring true.

The show took some hits for writing out the deaf sister and replacing her with a computer hacker sister... but honestly, the change will only ultimately help the show. The angry deaf sister, I believe, would ultimately be marginalized; less a 'character' and more a symbol of Jaime's good heart. The computer hacking aspect will undoubtedly get sis involved in plots. (Of course, deaf sis could have been a computer hacker too-- but she wasn't in the original pilot...)

Miguel Ferrer is a casting coup and lends suitable gravitas as "Oscar Goldman 2.0." I liked the backstory with his wife. The boyfriend serves dual role as scientist who gave Jaime bionics as well as love interest. Good call. Also, his dad on the evil side gives plenty for the character to do. The asian guy has intertwined backstory with Sarah Corvus, good move. The blond agent seems like a weak link for now, but it's way too early to tell. The actress seems capable and her scenes were good.

Katee Sackoff as Sarah Corvus lifted the whole pilot from "competent" to "above average." She's totally convincing as the complicated bionic psycho and gave a jolt to every scene she was in. "Without getting too dramatic... I'm the first Bionic Woman... tada." Sackoff takes that line and makes it her bitch. She was just great to watch.

Here's the thing tho. This show is brought to us by the same people that gave us BATTLESTAR GALACTICA. That's both good and bad. I'm a fan of BG and they've done some great episodes and some complex characters. They can tell a great story. That's the good. BUT, I feel BG got enveloped by its own story; It's become this convoluted space-soap where not even the Cylons know what their plan is anymore (and, apparently, the writers never truly did). I would hate to see BIONIC WOMAN fall into the same trap, of everything revolving around Sarah Corvus and Evil Science Dad's consortium. ALIAS fell into a similar trap with Sloan.

It's got potential. I like it so far. I'm probably sticking with this one for the season unless the wheels fall off the bionic cart.